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How the general dental practice team can improve outcomes for oral cancer patients

Session synopsis

The whole of the dental practice team has a key role in helping to improve outcomes following oral cancer. There is an agenda around i) improved awareness of oral cancer and its risk factors; ii) lifestyle advice and surveillance during routine appointment; iii) rapid access to primary care for patients with a history that might be one of oral cancer; iv) maintenance of oral health following treatment; v) emotional support focused around fears of recurrence; and vi) early detection and referrals of second primaries. These agendas are brought into sharp focus when one considers that the primary priory for patients is cure and survival. Whilst in follow-up, the mouth and oral function is one of the main concerns identified through the 'Patient Concerns' Inventory'. The dental team and the regional head and neck cancer centre needs to work in close collaboration to help optimise the outcomes. The number of patients with oral cancer continues to increase year on year and although there will be a rise in the proportion of those with oropharyngeal cancer related to HPV, the dental team has an equally important role in this cancer as it does oral cancer.

Lecture filmed at the British Dental Conference and Exhibition 2016.

Learning objectives

An update on the changing trends of how patients with head and neck cancer present to primary care

Gain a better understanding of which patients are most at risk

How patient feedback using the Patient Concerns Inventory informs and shapes practice

Explore the role of the general dental team in improving outcomes for oral cancer patients.

About the speaker

Simon qualified from Sheffield University Dental School in 1984. He became a Fellow of the Dental Faculty of the Royal College of Surgeons England in 1988 and qualified with honours from Birmingham University Medical School in 1990. In 1994 he passed his general surgical fellowship from the Royal College of Surgeons England and in 1997 won the gold medal in the Intercollegiate Oral and Maxillofacial exit examination. In January 1999 Simon was appointed Consultant Maxillofacial Surgeon at Aintree University Hospital with special interest in oncology and reconstruction. He has been Clinical Director of the Regional Oral and Maxillofacial Unit, and more recently has been the Clinical Head of the Business Unit for Breast, Dermatology, ENT, Opthalmology and Maxillofacial. In 2000 he was awarded his MD from the University of Birmingham. In 2002 he was awarded a Hunterian Professorship from the Royal College of Surgeons of England. In November 2006 Simon joined Edge Hill University, Faculty of Health and has a Chair in the Evidence based Practice Research Centre. In 2009 he gave the Nunn Lecture at the annual scientific meeting of the British Association of Head and Neck Oncologists. Simon has published widely on the subject of patient reported outcome and quality of life. His current focus of clinical innovation and outcomes research is the Patient Concerns Inventory.

How to watch

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